Pujun Bhatnagar · Published: October 30, 2024
Blossom Lux is a luxury florist renowned for their curated high-end gifts and flower delivery services, making a name with their commitment to quality and personalized service. With annual revenue reaching $8 million, they saw rapid growth as their online presence expanded, bringing them to customers nationwide. However, this expansion also introduced unexpected challenges: filing and collecting the correct sales taxes across jurisdictions. Initially, Blossom Lux relied on TaxJar to handle these obligations, but as their operations grew, it failed to keep up, leading to audits and compliance gaps.
When they received a $30,000 unpaid tax notice from Texas, followed by additional liabilities in Florida and New York, they realized they needed a more comprehensive solution. These missed filings had led to substantial sales tax penalties and legal costs, prompting them to seek a solution that could handle the demands of their multi-state operations with accuracy. After their nightmare with Taxjar, they found Kintsugi, a platform known for its reliability and efficiency. It offered them everything they needed to scale confidently while avoiding any future tax issues.
As Blossom Lux grew, so did the demands of managing sales tax compliance across multiple states. What started as a manageable task quickly became overwhelming, with them missing multiple deadlines for registration and filing. Their initial reliance on TaxJar seemed sufficient, but as their operations grew, the software failed to flag essential obligations in Texas, Florida, and New York--just to name a few. These oversights led to a $30,000 unpaid tax bill from Texas, compounded by additional fines, civil penalties, and uncollected taxes in other states, which soon added up to $60,000 in liabilities.
"We thought we had our bases covered with our initial tax solution, but as we started expanding, things got out of hand quickly. Getting slapped with a $30,000 tax bill—and then watching it climb to $60,000 —was a huge wake-up call. ” - Blossom Lux
These unexpected sales tax liabilities took their leadership team by surprise and placed the company at risk of further enforcement actions and penalties. The resulting legal fees and operational strain pulled valuable resources away from their growth initiatives. Realizing that ongoing compliance issues could jeopardize their business, Blossom Lux sought a better, more equipped solution. They needed a system could actually track requirements across jurisdictions with accuracy, automate filings, and eliminate future manual errors.
Implementing Kintsugi transformed Blossom Lux’s approach to sales tax compliance by streamlining calculations and automating filings. Kintsugi’s software tracked each jurisdiction’s requirements and provided real-time updates on sales tax rates, thresholds, and filing deadlines, ensuring that they would never run into a sales tax nightmare again. This automation allowed them to focus on innovating and delivering premium gift services, saving valuable time previously dedicated to managing compliance details and minimizing the risk of future errors.
"Switching to Kintsugi was a breath of fresh air; It’s been a huge time-saver and a game-changer for our peace of mind.” - CEO of Blossom Lux
In addition to real-time updates, Kintsugi provided proactive compliance monitoring, helping them to better manage their obligations seamlessly across a growing list of sales tax jurisdictions. The platform’s multi-state support meant they could confidently collect and manage sales tax without fear of missing requirements or incurring penalties. Kintsugi enabled them to reclaim time, enhance accuracy and support growth with a renewed sense of security in their compliance operations, including managing deductions more efficiently.
With Kintsugi as an integral part of their compliance strategy, Blossom Lux is poised to continue scaling across new regions with confidence. They have ambitious plans to reach more customers and expand their product offerings. The peace of mind that Kintsugi provides allows them to explore new markets without the constant worry of meeting diverse state tax regulations and avoiding sales tax penalties, setting the stage for smooth, compliant growth.
"Having Kintsugi in our corner gives us the confidence to think bigger.It’s empowering to feel this level of support as we set our sights on expanding even further." - Blossom Lux
Looking forward, Blossom Lux plans to leverage Kintsugi’s adaptability and proactive compliance monitoring to stay agile in a constantly changing tax landscape. With Kintsugi managing their multi-state sales and use tax requirements, they can focus on refining their product lines, enhancing customer experience, and building new partnerships. Confident in Kintsugi’s ability to support their growth goals, BlossomLux is well-positioned to expand their luxury brand to an even broader audience, knowing they have a solid foundation to maintain compliance every step of the way.
Based in San Francisco and founded in 2022, Kintsugi is dedicated to taking the stress out of sales tax compliance. Our platform automates the entire process, delivering high performance, reliability, and flexibility as your business scales.
Kintsugi is secure, encrypted, GDPR-compliant, and SOC 2 Type II certified, adhering to the highest standards for security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy.
Learn more about Kintsugi’s platform and integrations here.